


Hide and Seek

by reasonablywittyatbest



Category: Dishonored (Video Game)
Genre: Other
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-06-24
Updated: 2015-06-24
Packaged: 2018-04-05 21:37:13
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,912
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4195806
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/reasonablywittyatbest/pseuds/reasonablywittyatbest
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Corvo is old, Emily is all grown up, and they are still playing tag.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Hide and Seek

**Author's Note:**

> In the Dishonored 2 reveal chat someone mentioned what if the second game opened with Emily and Corvo playing hide-and-seek, and I had a lot of FEELINGS. So I wrote this.

It was yet another sunny day in the foreign tropical city they were currently anchored in, on their journey to Karnaca. They had been a full day here waiting for the ship to resupply and Emily suspected she had seen more sun than she had in her entire life back in Dunwall. Bright sunlight warmed the day early, and filtered in through the thin makeshift curtains that shielded their small room from prying eyes, but she knew that to someone determined, it would not matter. 

The pair ate in silence in the small cabin they were sharing on this trip. It wasn't the companionable silence they often shared. Both of them happy simply to enjoy the other's company in relative silence, neither them being particularly chatty. Instead it was a silence borne of discomfort. There had been little fights about it before, but it seemed much more serious now; given their current situation. 

During their morning sparring practice, after a particularly good stretch in which she believed they had been perfectly evenly matched, she had carelessly boasted that perhaps she was good enough now she no longer needed a Lord Protector. 

His offhand response of 'maybe someday little one' had been the final straw for her nerves, already stretched thin. She accused him of treating her like a child, of never believing in her abilities, when she was a perfectly capable adult. He had denied it, countering he had only her best interest at heart and that an Empress must have caution. The fight had gotten ugly from there. 

Despite the relative calm now the expression on her father's face, across from her at the small rickety table they sat eating their morning meal at, was stormy. It seemed to her that the few remaining strands of black hair he'd had left had turned grey. The lines around his eyes and across his forehead looked so much deeper than they had just a week ago. Made even more prominent by the scowl with which he studied his meager breakfasts as though it had done him great harm. As far as she knew the toast had not been present during the events at the tower, maybe he resented the fact it had witnessed their fight. 

She knew he must be preoccupied with the troubles that had forced them from their home, she was as well. That was why she had snapped at a comment she might have rolled her eyes at a month ago. Still, she felt a pang of guilt for the way she had spoken to him this morning. He had been the solid foundation on which her life had been built thus far, her safe haven in a storm, no matter her choices he was always on her side. Her father had already sacrificed so much of himself for her. Even through her own anger, the threat of their shared problems, she wished to ease his troubles. Not add to them. 

She reached across the table to place her hand over her father's, his eyes flicked up briefly to her and he spared her a small smile before he sunk back into his reverie. She knew he wouldn't pull away, even if he was still angry with her. Their hands were so different, yet so similar, she mused. Where his were large and square, hers were long and slim, his were dark where hers were pale. But they had the same calluses from wielding a blade, both were dotted with scars. Though he had a larger amount of both. She wondered though, when her father's hands had gotten so small, they hardly seemed the symbol of safety they had when she was young. 

Ah, but that had given her an idea. She reached across the table with her other hand to take his hand in both of hers and she could feel the smile on her face at the idea. It felt like it had been a long time since she has smiled too. 

"Corvo," even after learning he was her father she had never quite gotten into the habit of calling him as such, "We should play hide and seek., like we used to, you remember." She didn't add 'before mother died' But she knew he would think it as well. 

\---

Corvo had been lost in thought, about the events of this last month, the events at the tower, and how there wasn't a damn thing he could even do about any of it. And too about the fight this morning. Though he had denied her accusation that he still thought of her as the child that had been pulled away from him by masked men he could not fight, he knew in the end she was right. Even after she had fought just as hard as he had in their escape. He was angrier at himself than her, for having become a stubborn old man, the cliché over-protective father. At least he could wallow in relative comfort this time. The cramped quarters on the ship much preferable to the cells at Coldridge. The company was better this time around too. What more could a grumpy old man ask for. 

Corvo studied his daughter's face. It forced him to face reality; gone was the little girl he had rescued from a brothel, from betrayal. In her place was a young woman, proud and fierce and currently smiling at him, an expression he had seen less and less as as she had grown out of the little girl's face, and into the woman. She looked so much like Jessamine, every time he looked at her he was so proud, every time he looked at her he was reminded of his lost empress. It was a pain he could bear. 

When she was mad though, when she was frustrated, when they had spent hours going over proper fighting forms, and her brow had wrinkled in concentration and a fire burned behind her eyes, Corvo could see the parts of him he had given her. He hoped that fire would not burn out the soft parts of her she had gotten from Jessamine; he did not like to think he might have passed some of the darkness in him on to her. At one point he had, had hope that they would never have to find out if he had. Yet it seemed like days in which they would both find out were upon them, hiding themselves in sun and the smell of the ocean. Honesty he just hoped the future was better than the smell of the docks. 

"Like when you were small? Surely you are too old for such things." He replied, but the wrinkles around his eyes deepened this time in a smile. For now he would play along, no point in being a killjoy again so early in the morning, or to a face so important to him. 

"Or perhaps you are afraid you have grown too old, and that I shall finally best you." There was a twinkle in her eyes, so much like her mother's that for a second it was almost like he was transported back, to a simpler time in which a small princess would tease her large grumpy body guard. Or maybe not quite, for her words had more bite than Jessamine's had. 

"I do not think so, little one, I am still royal protector, I know where my charge is. That is the Protector's gift." He had finally learned how to banter back with Jessamine as their relationship had changed from platonic to romantic, many years after the princess had first told him he should smile more, for he was scaring off the birds. 

\-----

"You hide first," She got up from the small table, Corvo followed suit out of habit. Emily shut down any argument by closing her eyes and counting to ten. Corvo could just stay where he was, but she knew he wouldn't do that. And she was right, she felt his presence swoop past her and heard the small click of the door handle. The breeze as the door opened and he passed through it, not bothering to close it behind him. 

\-------

Corvo headed down into the ship, already with a hiding place in mind. The cargo hold would do nicely, he thought with a grin. They may be playing the same game they had when she was little but Corvo guessed that if he made it too easy she would take offense. And maybe he could turn this into more practice. Dark days ahead, there was never too much practice. If she was going to insist on taking the lead he would be certain she was ready. Maybe he should up their sparing lessons, there must be more moves he could teach her. More hand to hand combat as well, they should cover more tactical side of fighting as well, she certainly was naturally gifted but it couldn't hurt. He sighed at the thought of more practice, and as he felt twinges in his knees climbing down the steep metal stairs he shook his head ruefully. he was getting too old for this shit. 

\------

When her count was done she slipped out of the room, and hesitated. She was slightly more familiar with their ship than he was maybe, having spent more time poking around every corner of it even after Corvo had done an initial sweep for anyone who might be hiding on it will ill intentions. But it was still not Dunwall Tower, no familiar places to check, as when she was a child. Instead she would have to figure out where Corvo would go. 

He was larger than her, taller and broader, the small spaces she might have chosen were out of the question. And too she did not think he would go to the well-light, more crowded upper decks. No, Corvo would go down, into the darkness of the underbelly of the ship. So that is where she set off too as well. She hesitated on the way downstairs for a moment, cargo hold, engine room, , boiler room, before deciding on the main cargo hold . Larger, quieter, less chance of meeting people. Not to mention the relative maze of stores down there were perfect for hiding. 

The lamps that light the cargo hold were not the strongest, weak electrical light left many shadowed corners and dark nooks in the crowded hold. She decided to move up first, to get an idea of what she was dealing with, deftly climbing the pile of cargo. Crouched low between the top of the pile and the ceiling of the hold, it gave her a decent view of the area. She quickly memorized the relative layout, and then looked for likely spaces. The position of some rugs on the looked out of place, and so she slipped off the pile and set off in that direction. 

As she approached she knew she had been right, there were footprints in the sawdust. Corvo was probably hidden in the space between some low crates and the wall she decided as she peaked around a corner. She rounded the corner and then there was a clanging noise behind her and by instinct she turned to see what it was. By the time she realized what was happening and turned back she knew he would be gone, quick as a shadow. Well she thought with a grin, she would have gotten mad if he had made it too easy on her. After all she wasn't a kid anymore. Even if they were playing that same game as they had when she was. Then if the direct approach was out she would just have to sneak up on, corner him, outsmart him, one of those. In her mind's eye she could still see the general layout of the area. With that she came up with a plan. 

And so it went, Corvo was still devilishly quick for his age, and good at hiding his tracks. Emily realized he had probably left obvious clues on purpose to lure her to him first. Still she had her plan, and through their slow motion chase she tried to corral him. Both of them sneaking through the cargo hold. She pushed him towards what she had seen as a dead end surrounded by crates piled nearly to the ceiling. 

\-----

Corvo realized what Emily was doing just a second too late, he was trapped by a dead end with high stacks of cargo on either side. He could have used his powers to go over them, but that really would be cheating. No, she had won this round fair and square. He was exceptionally proud of her, that was very clever. Instead he whirled around when the light footfalls sounded behind him he was met with a grin that was as cheerful as it was predatory. Like father like daughter. 

"Found you" She said with an incredibly chipper tone. 

"I have been thoroughly found, in a very neat fashion," They stood there for a second for a second in silence, but they both wore smiles. "So then, I suppose it is your turn to hide little one." 

She stepped away from him and turned around with a grin "Yes, close your eyes and count to ten then," the she added with a small laugh "And no peeking." He did as he was told and she sped off, her footsteps light and quick after years of practicing. 

\-----

She left the cargo hold feeling incredibly pleased with herself, sure they were just playing hide and seek but it was still quite the achievement she thought, to outsmart Corvo like that. She wondered if he would be up for more practice like that. Emily had perfected the art of sneaking by lightly harassing minor aristocrats. How dreadful it would have looked if she had been caught sneaking through their room, pawing through their things, looking for their secrets, occasionally placing embarrassing pieces of clothing in public places. So she had just never gotten caught. She was very good at not getting caught. But that had been more thrilling, like a predator hunting prey. 

Right now though she made her way up the narrow stares leading to the upper decks. It was a large ship, but she already had a place in mind. On the first lower deck the captain had his cabin, a cabin he kept locked tight in case any of the crew had sticky fingers. Luckily Emily had taught herself to pick locks, a skill even Corvo did not know she had. She might be able to sneak around well enough to evade Corvo yes, or she could place herself outside of the game. She thought this was a fair enough tactic, after all Corvo had led her on quite a merry chase. 

And so she found herself sitting at the Captain's desk playing with some hideous small trinket he kept on it. The lock on the door had been a breeze, cheap and easily picked. She hadn't locked the door behind her, and wondered if Corvo would figure it out. 

It turned out that the captain kept an extra clock in one of his draws, which she used to keep time. She decided to give Corvo fifteen minutes, that felt more than fair. In fact as she watched the minutes tick by it seemed more like an eternity. Finally time was up, and she sighed, somehow disappointed that he hadn't figured it out. Maybe that was unfair of her, she had chosen this particular plan to outsmart him, hadn't she? Didn't she want to prove to him that she was definitely ready to stand on her own? 

Well it hardly mattered this was just a game of hide and seek, after all, something to cheer them both up. As she reached for the door handle to leave the room and find Corvo, again, the handle turned. The door swung open as she stepped back quickly. She surprised, and honestly quite pleased, to find it was Corvo who opened the door to the room she had been hiding in. 

"Found you," He said with a deadly serious face.

"Took you long enough" she said nonchalantly but she was grinning. "How did you figure it out?" She was genuinely curious. 

"I told you I always know where my charge is." he paused and grinned at her almost sheepishly "Though I will say you had me stumped until I suddenly recalled seeing a diagram of a lock on your desk awhile back, and wondered perhaps if it was more than simple curiosity that lead you to study it." 

She laughed at that "Well I suppose this is a lesson in why I should keep my papers somewhere more secure than my desk." 

"I hadn't taught you that already?" 

"Oh you might have mentioned it a few hundred times yes." 

"Well then maybe now you'll listen to me" 

Corvo offered her his arm "Shall we continue or should we return to our cabin to finish our meal?" 

She took his arm "Our food, I think would be good, yes." 

As they walked together in companionable silence, she figured that if their relationship could withstand the force of their two personalities then it could probably weather any storm yet to come. And that was good, because even if she was ready to take the lead she still wanted her father right behind her. 

**Author's Note:**

> Who is excited. I AM SO EXCITED.


End file.
